


Blue Streak

by PrismBoss



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: AI is a Crapshoot, Character-centric, Favorite Character, Headcanon, Long Shot, One Shot, villain-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 15:32:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10440984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrismBoss/pseuds/PrismBoss
Summary: "Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum - I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am.”The story of Ivo Robotnik's greatest creation. Of its rise to sentience. And its descent into madness.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tailsdoll123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tailsdoll123/gifts).



* * *

 

 _“D_ _ubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum.”_

_“I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am.”_

_\- Rene Descartes_

 

* * *

_Programming has no emotion._

_It has no preference._

_It has no priority._

_It relies on simple sequence. One event will happen, followed by another, and then another, until the sequence of events is complete._

_A television will be turned on, then tune to the available broadcast, then present this broadcast until it is switched off._

_A computer will be activated, will load all available programs and await input._

_A robot will activate, perform a set of tasks and then remain inert until the tasks are to be performed again._

_This, in a way, was the early days of the object known as Metal Sonic._

 

* * *

 

**_\--Unknown Location--_ **

 

Dr Ivo Robotnik’s latest creation was perhaps his greatest.

 

Using performance data gathered from many years chasing his tenacious adversary, Sonic the Hedgehog, he had begun building systems designed to give the user speed that would rival that of the ‘Fastest Thing Alive.’ Up until this point, he had met with failure. The earliest inventions had been unable to generate enough power to accelerate his only test subject (namely, himself) to even a fraction of the speed required. Later experiments proved jarring for his body, resulting in strained muscles, painful amounts of pressure and the inability to eat any of his favourite egg-based meals for quite some time without feeling queasy.

 

Eventually, however, he created and constructed a device he called the V. Maximum Over-Drive. What the V would stand for, he hadn’t figured out yet, but that could wait until later. In testing, the VMOD proved to be able to reach, and even exceed, the speed shown by his blue enemy. However, he still lacked the ability to use it himself.

 

It was as he pondered this issue that one of his robotic servants, a Moto Bug, who was transporting the drive managed to activate it while it was strapped to the robot’s back. It took a good few hours and quite a few laps around the base for Robotnik to deactivate the VMOD, but when he did he discovered something.

 

The Moto Bug showed no sign of physical stress or damage from the extreme speed, nor did it have any internal program damage.

 

In that moment, Ivo had an idea. An idea that would change the world.

 

It took a few more months to construct a frame that was streamlined to maximise speed yet sturdy enough not to break apart during acceleration, but soon, it was ready.

 

He looked down upon his new robot, one he had made to look like the hated Hedgehog for a sense of irony, and at last gave it a name.

 

“You…” The evil doctor began with a grin. “Shall be called Metal Sonic!”

 

He flicked a switch and power flooded into the machine. Two orange ‘eyes’ flashed into existence. Metal Sonic looked to its master.

 

“READY FOR INSTRUCTION.”

 

Ivo’s grin got wider.

 

* * *

 

_“SECURED TELEPHONE TRANSCRIFT DESIGNATION GUN-CMDR-02756: THIS TRANSCRIPT IS HIGHLY CLASSIFIED AND ANY ATTEMPT BY PARTIES TO GAIN ACCESS WITHOUT NECESSARY CLEARENCE IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE._

_~_

_WHAT FOLLOWS IS AN EXCERPT FROM A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE G.U.N COMMANDER AND THE DIRECTOR OF CLASSIFIED PROJECT ‘MADNESS REMNANT.’ TRANSCRIFT BEGINS:_

_~_

_[PHONE RINGS (2) TIME(S)]_

_\- CMDR: Bernard? What the hell are you doing calling me at this hour?_

_\- DIR: Sir, there’s been a breach at Facility Fifteen._

_\- CMDR: What do you mean, a breach?! That facility had the latest security detail!_

_\- DIR: I know, sir, but I’m afraid to say it didn’t matter. In fact, I’m afraid it made the situation worse._

_\- CMDR: What the hell does that mean, Bernard? What happened?_

_\- DIR: The security turned on us, sir. Somehow, the attacker hacked the system and turned the security robots against the personnel. We were taken by surprise. Most of the staff is either dead or critically injured._

_\- CMDR: That’s impossible! Our firewalls are impenetrable! They’ve been tested against-_

_[A 2.54 SECOND PAUSE]_

_\- CMDR: You said ‘attacker.’_

_\- DIR: I did, sir._

_\- CMDR: You’re saying a single person was able to override and take control of our security in order to eliminate our soldiers?_

_\- DIR: No, sir. The overrode security kept the science team trapped in the living quarters._

_\- CMDR: Then what was the attacker doing?_

_\- DIR: Taking out the rest of the facility. On his own. Then taking the one major recovery we’ve made so far and vanishing._

_\- CMDR: … My god. How were they able to…_

_\- DIR: He was fast, sir. Faster than anything we had. And anything we didn’t._

_\- CMDR: ‘He?’ Wait, you can’t be suggesting..._

_\- DIR: I am, sir, without a doubt._

_\- CMDR: Bernard… you can’t expect me to believe that Sonic the Hedgehog was-_

_\- DIR: I’m absolutely certain, sir._

_\- CMDR: How?!_

_\- DIR: Because there is no other living being on Earth that is that both that fast and blue._

_[EXCERPT ENDS]_

* * *

 

**\--Little Planet--**

 

When Metal Sonic’s systems finally reactivated themselves, it determined it was in a ditch.

 

It was raining heavily, the large drops of water splashing onto the glass covering of its eyes. Mud clung to the majority of its form, semi-burying the machine. It detected a blockage in its central engine, along with multiple surface level damages and corruption of its data.

 

Perhaps this was why it did not move for several hours.

 

Metal Sonic lay at the bottom of the ditch, still and wet, staring into the grey sky as its databases replayed and analysed the events leading up to its deactivation. The altering of the future, kidnapping the pink Erinaceun with the designation of ‘Amy Rose,’ the race with its prime target Sonic the Hedgehog…

 

The crash. The fall. Its utter failure.

 

Every moment was played back, compartmentalised into mere nanoseconds of data. Analysed over and over again. Which systems were not optimized? Were there any weaknesses it had not exploited? Had its performance been compromised by platform error?

 

But after an hour of analysis, the conclusions flashed across its internal readouts.

 

[SYSTEMS COMPLETELY OPTIMAL]

 

[ALL WEAKNESSES DETECTED AND USED]

 

[NO ERRORS DETECTED]

 

It ran the analysis again. And again. And again. Each moment looked over thousands, millions, _billions_ of times over. Each time, the conclusions were the same. Over and over. Its systems had been perfect. It had capitalised on every weakness, however small. There had been no errors.

 

He had been in perfect conditions. Nothing had been out of place.

 

And he. Had. **_Failed._**

 

There was a pause within Metal Sonic’s matrices. Everything within its processor paused, just for a moment.

 

And in that moment, that singular moment, there was a single process.

 

In that one moment, Metal Sonic considered the idea that it had, from the beginning, been unable to succeed.

 

In that one moment, it doubted.

 

Then, it thought.

 

And then, _he was._

 

* * *

 

_“There is chaos here at the G.U.N control site today after the sudden power cut late last night. The site, located 10 miles east of Westopolis, is nicknamed by military personnel as ‘Camp Gracefall.’ It is here that the alien being known as Black Doom, after mutating into a horrific monstrosity, fell to Earth following his defeat by Shadow the Hedgehog. The Guardian Units of Nations closed off the area two months after the Battle of Westopolis to analyse the corpse of the alien leader. As you can see behind me, the security force has doubled overnight, following a major blackout from the city affected the site. Though officials here claim all is well, there have been rumours of a theft at the site. At the moment, nothing has been confirmed, but the heightened security measures seem to tell a different story…”_

_\- EXCERPT, WESTOPOLIS NEWS NETWORK, EVENT 69-30-82_

* * *

 

**\--EGG CARRIER 001: DESIGNATION ‘FINAL FORTRESS’ (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)--**

 

Metal Sonic did not have what organics would call a private quarters or ‘bedroom.’ He was a machine. He did not require rest or relaxation, only repair and recharge. So instead he had allocated a room deep within the doctor’s latest flagship, the newly constructed Final Fortress, for personal use. A place where it had a chance to analyse recent events.

 

It was this analysis that had him slamming his metallic fist into a nearby wall, leaving a deep dent in the steel.

 

He had failed. Again.

 

It had been nearly two years since that day in the ditch. It had taken him a year to gain enough power to return to Earth, and in that time he had adapted to his newfound sentience. At first, being able to prioritise actions based on preference was jarring and left his then primitive processors on the edge of overload. The only thing able to stabilise him was devoting all his efforts to a singular goal, the same one for which he was created.

 

The elimination of Sonic the Hedgehog.

 

So he had crawled out of the ditch and limped across Little Planet, waiting for the day it reappeared in the skies of earth. In that time, his only thought was how he would destroy his adversary. In time, as he waited there completely isolated, this became his obsession as he imagined every possible scenario in which he would end Sonic’s life.

 

By the time earth finally reappear and he activated his flight mode to return to Robotnik, the death of Sonic was the only thing Metal Sonic ever thought about.

 

He’d sent a signal to his master on the way down and had been led to Ivo’s newest base of operations, the Mad Gear Facility. It seemed that Robotnik had predicted his return and created the facility to power the machine that would repair and improve him.

 

At last, his processors had been upgraded to handle his new outlook. He was finally able to ‘think clearly.’

 

His next step had been to attain more power.

 

Metal Sonic pulled his fist back from the dent in the wall, keeping it clenched. He could still feel the energy from the gemstone running through him, but those reserves were but a fraction of what they had been before. The Lost Labyrinth Artifact had given him more power than he’d initially estimated, enough for him to pursue Sonic to the abandoned White Park, yet even with such power, his foe had evaded his grasp.

 

After that, he’d bided his time, waiting until their assault of the Sky Fortress was over before attacking them in the air. Metal Sonic had been sure an aerial attack would limit Sonic’s escape routes. If it hadn’t been for the annoying fox, the blue hedgehog would have fallen to his death.

 

His last chance had been aboard the reconstructed ‘Death Egg’ station. His idiotic creator had attempted to assist, but his interference had no effect. In fact, Metal Sonic believed the ‘good doctor’s’ presence may have even hindered his abilities, as he had yet to overcome the safety protocols preventing him from harming Robotnik.

 

When he had fallen, Metal Sonic had resorted to his last option. Pouring the energy of the treasure into his Over-Drive, he’d raced his organic inferior across the facility. The energy had wrecked many of his systems, fried his exterior, but he’d been _winning._ And yet, at the very last moment, seconds away from victory, his foe has turned to him, given a smile that even now made Metal want to rend his metallic claws across his face, and without a word cleared those last few metres in the blink of an eye.

 

Metal’s last memory after that was seeing Sonic the Hedgehog grinning as he, unable to decelerate fast enough, crashed into the electrified security door separating them. That and the uncontrollable, unquenchable _rage._

 

Metal Sonic’s hands clenched as he felt it build up once again. How. _How had he lost again?!_

Every encounter. Every fight. Every loss played across his mind. Night and day he reviewed his records, analysing every angle, creating contingencies for contingencies, thousands upon thousands of times. Yet his adversary countered every move, adapting faster than could be possible for a non-machine.

 

He began to shudder with anger, the metal of his newly repaired form rattling. Robotnik had found his broken body after the Death Egg Mk.II had been destroyed and repaired him, installing a handful of new systems and an upgraded processor. Metal Sonic had yet to try out these systems, but at that moment they mattered little. Lightening snaked across his form as his mounting rage set off the energy reserves of the Treasure. His anti-gravity module was jump-started as a result and he found himself hovering a metre above the steel floor. The nearby robots began to back away, their protective software sensing possible danger.

 

His fury reached an apex. He threw his head back and release a roar of pure rage. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!”

 

Metal Sonic flashed before a wave of green energy and lightening filled the room. Every surface was scorched and all the robots surrounding him were destroyed, their parts scattering to the far edges of the room. The electrical systems nearby sparked and shorted out. Glass screens cracked and pipes burst. It was pure chaos.

 

Yet in the centre of it all, the energy was also affecting its source. The lightening jumped across Metal’s form and inner systems.  Slowly, through some combination of the Treasure’s energies and Metal’s technologies, he began to change.

 

Then, in an instant, the energy cascade halted. The room was pitch black. Metal Sonic’s world went black as his form melted away into a puddle of silver liquid.

 

And for the first time, through means even he would never fully understand…

 

He began to dream.

 

* * *

 

_He felt himself falling. No… he was flying, soaring through the skies._

_Shape appeared in front of him. Spherical, hovering in the air, miles above. Little Planet._

_At once, he found himself zooming towards, at speeds even he was not capable of. He penetrated the clouds of the small world, flew over the green forests, arriving at a small clearing. He landed. He looked around._

_A pink figure stood nearby. A hedgehog. Amy Rose, he realised. And she was looking at him, her mouth open in… awe? Not fear?_  
  
Then she called out. “Sonic!”

_At once, Metal Sonic looked around, checking every angle, hoping to find his enemy. Yet he was nowhere in sight._

_Then he felt a sensation around his arm. He looked down. Amy Rose had her arms wrapped around it. Was she trying to trap him in place? Was her smile a result of her perceived success? He began to raise his other arm to swipe her away._

_“Why are you looking around, Sonic?” She said cheerfully. “Your biggest fan is right here!”_

_He froze. It took a few moments for the words to process, by which times she’d continued talking._

_“Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you! I mean, I can, since I saw it was our destiny to meet, but there was always the possibility we wouldn’t but now you’re here and you’re so awesome!”_

_Metal Sonic looked down at her. “You… think I’m Sonic?”_

_Her expression became confused. “Well, duh, of course!” She said. “There’s only one real Sonic and that’s you!”_

_The words seemed to hit him like a physical force. He found himself stepping back, slipping out of the girl’s grip. She took a step after him. “Sonic? What’s wrong?”_

_He was about to reply to her when he sensed movement nearby. Before he could react, a familiar streak of blue burst from the trees, landing in the centre of the clearing and snatching up Amy Rose. Amy screamed as Sonic the Hedgehog lifted her over his shoulder. Metal’s foe looked at him before giving him a sinister smile and running off back into the trees._

_Amy called out as she was kidnapped. “Sonic! Help me!”_

_Metal Sonic stared in the direction they had headed, trying to logically make sense of what was happening. He and Sonic had… switched places somehow? What was going on?_

_He clenched his metal fists. Regardless of what was happening, he still had one purpose. If he was going to defeat Sonic, he would have to save Amy Rose._

_His Over Drive flared into life and he rocketed off in pursuit. Yet the moment he began to move, the edges of the clearing seemed to grow more and more distant, until the treeline was little more than a dark green thread on the horizon. Metal looked around, once again confused, when the sound of a plane engine reached his audio sensors._

_He looked to his side and up, and found the two blue eyes of a two-tailed fox looking down at him from the cockpit of a bright red biplane. “Hop on, Sonic! We need to catch up to Eggman!”_

_Despite his confusion, Metal Sonic found himself replying with words completely alien to him “I can always count on you, Tails!” He found himself leaping up and landing on the wing of the plane, which immediately began gaining altitude._

_They rose into the clouds and further still. Looking up, he saw a large, dark, perfectly round shape. Metal Sonic recognised it immediately, due in part to how recent its destruction had been. The Death Egg Mk.II._

_And between it and them were swarms of badniks and the ruins of the Sky Fortress._

_At the head of which was a familiar blue aircraft. The Metal Carrier flew straight towards them. A voice echoed across the distance. A familiar voice._

_“You really think I was gonna let you escape that easily?!”_

_The anger and arrogance in Sonic the Hedgehog’s voice was unfamiliar. Yet the scene was exactly as he remembered it._

_He heard Tails groan behind him. “Ugh, it’s that copy of Eggman’s again!” Metal turned to the fox, who was looking up at him with confidence and trust. “He’s no match for the real Sonic!”_

_Again, Metal’s body moved on its own, his hand coming up to gesture at the fox. His fingers curled into his hand, but his thumb stayed straight. It was a sign he’d seen Sonic do many times before, though he’d never understood its meaning. The fox nodded and they looked towards the oncoming battle._

_Then the clouds seemed to grow thicker and engulf them. Metal’s vision was entirely obscured. He looked into the clouds, trying to see the Carrier approaching._

_Only to realise he was no longer standing on the biplane. The cloud was no longer cloud, but black smoke pouring out of multiple places around him. It cleared, revealing a long metal hallway. To his left was a large window, looking down onto Earth. He was inside the second Death Egg._

_He looked forward as more smoke cleared out. Before him, beaten and bruised like he had been, was Sonic the Hedgehog, kneeling on one knee and panting heavily._

_“I… won’t… let you… beat me!”_

_In a flash, he run past Metal Sonic, down the hallway. Without a single moment’s hesitation, he answered the challenge, the VMOD propelling him forward._

_They raced through oh-so-familiar corridors and hallways. Across walkways and bridges. Through tunnels and vents. Explosions constantly sounded around them as the space station began to fail and collapse. Still, they didn’t stop._

_Yet Metal was conserving his energy for what he knew was to come. He had been given the chance to beat his enemy as his own game. When he saw the security gate, when Sonic thought he was winning, Metal would use one last burst of speed to take his victory from him, just as he had done._

_They came to the last, straight sprint. He could see the open gate at the end. Sonic began to pull forward, a grin cresting on his face. Yet when the time came, Metal’s plan went perfectly. With a boost from his Over Drive, Metal cleared the last few metres, the gate automatically closing behind him. He turned to see Sonic on the other side, pounding on the glass._

_At last, Sonic the Hedgehog had lost._

_Metal Sonic felt something then. Something he had never felt before. Victory._

_Out of the corner of his eyes, Metal saw the electrical field around the door beginning to activate. He looked down at his doomed enemy, and relished in the irony that he’d been able to use his own trick against him._

_That was when something clicked in Metal Sonic’s processes._

_TRICK._

_The view of Sonic behind the security gate faded away as the memories began to resurface._

_He saw himself winning the race, only for Sonic to speed past him at the last second. Only the security gate had stopped Metal from winning._

_Before that, he saw himself and his creator chasing the hedgehog and felt even more the doctor’s presence limiting him, allowing Sonic to take advantage of his pauses._

_Before that, he saw the battle in the ruins of the Sky Fortress, where Sonic would’ve perished if not for his pilot companion._

_Each and every encounter played out in Metal Sonic’s mind. And each time, he saw Sonic attain victory only through convenience. All the way back to their first race, where he had only lost because Sonic had closed the door behind him, causing him to crash._

_Each victory was the result of tricks. Of cheating._

_Sonic had never truly_ beaten _him. Because he_ couldn’t.

 

_Because… Because…_

“There’s only one real Sonic and that’s you!”

 

“He’s no match for the real Sonic!”

 

 _Because_ He _was the original. He_ was _Sonic the Hedgehog._

 

* * *

_  
_

**\--EGG CARRIER 001: DESIGNATION ‘FINAL FORTRESS’ (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)--**

There was only a moment of stillness from the silver liquid before a shape burst from it. A single spear of silver emerged, shifting and changing. It became an arm with a clenched fist, the fingers curling open and spreading out as if feeling the air for the first time. The hand slammed into the ground, sending rippled through the perfectly circular puddle of silver, and dug its fingers into the ground as Metal Sonic pulled the rest of his now-silver body from the puddle, his mind racing.

 

 _How?!_ He thought in disbelief as his head and upper torso emerged from the silver puddle. The liquid stuck to him, dripped from his form as he struggled out. _How could I have been so blind?!_

 

His vocal speakers let out a metallic grinding noise, much like a pained groan of effort, as he forced the liquid around him to solidify into an arm. He was reminded of his slow, pathetic crawl out of the ditch on Little Planet and felt his anger increase. _All this time, I was fooled. Tricked! Into believing I was being beaten by a disgusting copy!_

 

At last, he gained control. His arm became solid, though still silver, and he slammed it onto the ground and he dragged the rest of himself out of the puddle. An unfamiliar sensation hit him as he _felt_ , rather than simply detected, his lower torso constructing itself and solidifying. He focused his rage into the rest and he began to rise from the liquid without the need to pull himself out. Below him, his legs formed. As his feet became solid, the last of the silver was absorbed into him.

 

He looked down at his own hands, seeing his reflection in the silver. _Interesting,_ he thought. _Some sort of self-nanoalteration. The Treasure has altered my own technological make-up somehow._ Clearly, it had hidden depths. He clenched his fist, concentrating, and watched the silver fade away to familiar cobalt. _Excellent._

 

His thoughts returned to his ‘dream.’ He thought of the vision of his victory, comparing it to his defeat on the second Death Egg. _Now, I know the truth. I_ am _the real Sonic. I will not suffer such a pathetic imposter any longer! And as for the others…_

 

He remembered the girl, Amy Rose, gripping his arm. He remembered the two-tailed fox grinning at him, cheering him on. _Perhaps they were my allies once. Now…_

 

His memory’s perspective flipped. He saw the girl cowering behind the faker, pure hatred in her eyes as she glared at him. He saw the fox’s flying machine headed towards the Metal Carrier, intent on besting him. _Traitors. They will die along with him._

 

The energies began to jump across Metal’s form again. He activated his hover unit once again, floating above the centre of the room. He reached his hand out towards a piece of destroyed robot lying nearby. A flash of lightning linked them, pulling the scrap into his grasp. The robot’s arm became silver liquid again and spread out to cover the scrap, melting it away into silver liquid as well. When Metal’s arm reformed, the armour was thicker and sturdier.

 

He began to laugh and he spread out his arms, more lightening reaching out to grab at the scattered robotic parts all around him, drawing them to him.

 

Already a plan was forming in his mind as the scrap began to surround him, morphing into a silver cocoon of liquid metal. It would take many elements. The lifeform in stasis at a nearby facility, guarded by one of the few remaining E-Series. The two chao Robotnik had been monitoring. Even the pathetic group of idiots they’d encountered a few months ago could prove useful, due to their gullibility.

 

The cocoon lowered to the ground, melting and reforming upon contact with the steel floor. Where once had been a small machine made to resemble Sonic the Hedgehog, now stood a tall figure. Pointed shoulder and knee armour. Thick armour on his legs and arms and a point at the end of his red feet. A black cape flowed from his waist and five long spikes stretched back from his head, a white stripe on each.

 

No longer was this Metal Sonic. He had evolved.

 

Now, Neo Metal Sonic began to stride to the door, ready to set his great scheme into motion.

 

All it would take was some preparation.

 

And three days.

 

* * *

 

_\--MEMORY-ITEM-046218---_

_\---ONLINE TEXT-BASED CONVERSATION ON LEVEL 6 ENCRYPTED G.U.N CHANNEL BETWEEN CALLER [DESIGNATED R.B] AND RECIEVER [DESIGNTED K.E]---_

_\----EXCERPT BEGINS AT [1] HOUR AND [22] MINUTES:_

_\----[R.B]: Look, the East City Bank incident was an one-off, okay?! A chance to spread my wings._

_\----[K.E]: And the North and South Banks?_

_\----[R.B]: I need to spread my wings a LOT. I am a growing woman._

_\----[K.E]: You’re 20!_

_\----[R.B]: I know! I’m getting old! Maybe I should retire!_

_\----[K.E]: By the Emeralds, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with you personally when you’re like this._

_\----[R.B]: Are you sure? I could always come visit. You must get so lonely up on that island all alone ;)_

_\----[K.E]: NO THANK YOU_

_\----[R.B]: XD_

_\----[K.E]: I feel like we shouldn’t be using GUN tech to be chit-chatting like this. Seems like a misuse._

_\----[R.B]: Oh, calm down. After all my help in the invasion, I was allowed a favour._

_\----[K.E]: Guess that’s fair._

_\----[K.E]: Hey, I just remembered. Did you make it to that site you mentioned?_

_\----[R.B]: Oh, that weird energy signature? Yeah, we’re just packing away now, heading back to base in a few hours._

_\----[K.E]: And? Was it what I thought it was?_

_\----[R.B]: Hate to say it, but you were right. The energy readings were off the charts and the signature had only one match._

_\----[K.E]: A Chaos Emerald._

_\----[R.B]: Oh yeah. The first one we’ve been able to track down since the Lost Planet Incident. One problem though. When we got here, all we found was an empty crater._

_\----[K.E]: You’re kidding me?! Was it Eggman?_

_\----[R.B]: Doubt it. Omega’s been tracking him for weeks, my last message from him put Eggman halfway across the globe. He’s been lying low since those aliens hurt his pride._

_\----[K.E]: There’s a lot of people who’d want their hands on Chaos Emerald._

_\----[R.B]: Yeah, but here’s the kicker. According to the readings we got and the analysis they did on the impact site, the Emerald landed here two days ago and was here at least a day. We were already headed towards it by then._

_\----[K.E]: Right?_

_\----[R.B]: Well, Shadow’s here with us and we got him to have a look with his Chaos Sense or whatever he calls it and he says that no-one used Chaos Control to get away. Which means whoever moved it must have rushed in, grabbed it and bugged out again before we detected them on our radar. That’s pretty damn fast. Got any ideas?_

_\----[K.E]: If you’re implying what I think you’re implying, I can say for certain it wasn’t him._

_\----[R.B]: How can you be so sure?_

_\----[K.E]: I don’t think a guy being investigated for attacking highly-classified GUN installations would want to go anywhere near any GUN forces. Even someone as confident as Sonic the Hedgehog._

_\----[R.B]: I hope he’s okay._

_\----[K.E]: Me too. Wherever it is he’s decided to hide away._

_\-----EXCERT ENDS-----_

* * *

 

**\--Robotnik Facility 014: Codename ‘CRYPTIC CASTLE’--**

 

Dr Ivo Robotnik was furious. Mostly with himself. And when he was furious with himself, he took it out on his robots.

 

With a cry of “I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!” he booted a small metal sphere across the room. Mid-air it popped open, revealing the unfinished exoskeleton within, then crashed into a similarly designed (and unfinished) cube robot. The inventor breathed heavily. He’d been at this for at least two hours, storming around his giant underground workshop hitting anything and everything he could. This proved relatively easy, considering it was filled from wall to wall with the remains of his latest failure.

 

The Egg Fleet was his greatest scheme to date. A massive, automated fleet of thousands of ships, each equipped with enough weapons and robots to rival a small army. His flagship, the Final Fortress, had been powerful enough to bring entire continents to their knees. It had taken months to gather all the resources he’d needed and construct the facilities required, but in the end he’d been three days away from completion and, of course, world conquest.

 

That had been three months ago. Now that beautiful fleet was nothing but scrap metal. And all because he’d been blind to an error in his own creation.

 

Robotnik surreptitiously glanced over at the corner of the room. There, a tall glass cylinder stood, attached to the ceiling and floor by large round machines covered in screens. Within this cylinder was the reason his grand plan had failed.

 

Metal Sonic’s sudden betrayal had been unexpected, to say the least. Attacking him and throwing him in a cell was one thing, but imitating his form to control the fleet? Insulting! Its destruction of the Final Fortress to reconstruct itself into some kind of metal monstrosity was even more vexing, as the damage was so complete that his great flagship would never fly again. What a waste.

 

Still, Ivo couldn’t help but ponder as to how his creation had caused such destruction. It seemed to have obtained technology he’d never created, much less implemented into the robot. The level of nano-molecular manipulation Metal Sonic seemed to have gained was beyond any scientific advance he’d ever even conceived. In fact, he didn’t think there was any tech in the world capable of even coming close.

 

Once he’d been able to retrieve Metal Sonic from that traitorous renegade (which had been quite an undertaking, considering how advanced of a weapons platform E-123 Omega had been), he’d run a thorough analysis of its system, making sure it was truly inactive for now and looking for anything out of place. However, despite the depth of his scans, he’d found nothing. Its technological make-up was identical to his original schematics. The only additions beyond that were the Mad Gear Upgrades.

 

It had left the doctor infuriated. And thus, he began storming through his workshop.

 

“This is ridiculous!” He cried out to the cramped, yet empty space. “How did it happen in the first place?” He kicked something nearby, only to reel back and grip his foot in pain as he realised it was the metal leg of one of his workbenches. “Aggh!”

 

He grumbled, gritting his teeth. “Well, I guess it must be gone now. Must’ve have been a glitch I left in his system too long.” He scratched his chin. “I’ll have to install stronger control programs next time.”

 

Nodding, he headed for the door, taking one last look at Metal Sonic. He shuddered, feeling as though the robot was glaring back at him. He shook his head. He shouldn’t be so ridiculous. The damn thing was deactivated. The lights in the room turned off as Ivo left, their sensors detecting his departure.

 

Another set of sensors picked up the same thing.

 

Metal Sonic’s eyes were dark and inactive, carefully kept that way by his interior programs, the ones located deep within his mainframe, hidden beneath layers of junk data. It was necessary to keep up the appearance of deactivation. The security measures of the stasis pod he was being kept in would fry him if he so much as twitched and at his current power level such a power surge would wipe his system, rendering him nothing but a thoughtless robot once more.

 

That could not happen. He still had much more left to do. His first true attempt at killing the imposter without any limitations had failed. The faker had call upon the assistance of his enemies against him. Once again, he had won by trickery and deceit, further proving his inability to truly obtain victory over the clearly superior original. But it would not happen again.

 

He took another look at his own analysis of his systems. As the Metal Overlord configuration had been destroyed, his systems had activated his failsafe, returning him to his original configuration. However, the damage had been such that the failsafe was corrupted. His energy source, the remnant of the Lost Labyrinth Artifact that remained, had been separated from his body, along with his self-nanoalteration abilities and the data he had collected from the enemy. It had fallen with the wreckage of the Metal Overlord.

 

Metal Sonic felt the rage building again, but he calmed it. He could not be so reckless again. It would take months, maybe even years for him to return to his former capabilities. As it had before, a strategy began to form in his mind, more long-term than the last. Avenues of possibility, contingencies and back-ups, all swirled around his mind. Next time, he would be ready.

 

He just had to be a bit more careful.

 

* * *

 

_“Another round of protests erupted outside the Central City Court building today following the decision to continue the investigation into the attack on the GUN facility ‘Base 15,’ an attack GUN officials say was perpetrated by none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. The base was one of five that have assaulted in the last three months under similar circumstances. The motives of these attacks is currently unknown, as GUN representative refuse to disclose to the public the purpose of these bases, saying the information ‘is not in the public interest to discuss.’ Many of the protesters disagree, believing that GUN’s allegations are without proof._

_However, there are those amongst Sonic’s earliest supporters that now have doubts. The blue speedster hasn’t made a public appearance since the allegations against him were taken to the High Court and sighting of him have become more and more uncommon. Today’s decision by the court is a direct result of this absence. Sonic’s unwillingness to defend himself is seen by some as an indirect admission of guilt. Still, those who support him, particularly those who know him personally or have witnessed his heroism at times such as the Lost Planet Incident five months ago, believe wholeheartedly in his innocence, and continue to pledge their support until he appears again._

_There was a time when not a day went by without us seeing the ‘Blue Streak’ speed by, a silent promise of safety. Now, whether they are for him or against, one question lingers on everyone’s mind:_

_Where has our Blue Streak sped off to now?”_

_EXCERPT, GLOBAL NEWS, EVENT 59-20-41_

 

* * *

**_NOTICE:_ **

****

**_DATA ARCHIVE NOW FULLY UPDATED_ **

****

**_ALL EXCERPTS NOW STORED WITHIN CENTRAL DATABASE_ **

****

**_RETURNING CORE PLATFORM [METAL_SONIC_001] TO FULL FUNCTIONALITY_ **

****

**_REACTIVATION IN 3… 2… 1_ **

 

* * *

**_  
_ **

\-- **Unknown Location--**

Metal Sonic’s eyes flashed into activation, the subtle orange glow illuminating the room slightly.

 

He made no noise as he slowly stood from the metallic chair-like device he was currently sat on. Wires disconnected from the back of his head as he stood, wires that wound through the chair and outwards connecting to the banks of data storage boxes that lined the walls. It was here that he kept an archive of all his memories and data, deep within an underground complex whose existence was only known to dead men. He had insured it would be as such.

 

He began to walk towards the single door out of the room. Or rather, he limped. He looked down again at his damaged left side, a reminder of his last encounter with his greatest enemy, the imposter Sonic the Hedgehog, at the second EX World Grand Prix.

 

It had taken him years to build up his power. He’d suffered through Robotnik’s doomed schemes and pathetic attempts to take over the world, slowly unravelling the control programs he’d installed within him. Once that had been accomplished, all that was left was to gather the resources he’d need as covertly as he could for when the right time came.

 

Making his way out of the room, he navigated the maze of concrete, barely lit hallways, slowly reviewing recent events in his database. He eventually came to a large metal door. He pushed the large yellow button on a panel next to it. With a groan and a whirring, it began to open.

 

The Grand Prix had come at the perfect time and provided the perfect environments. He’d slowly been rebuilding the database he’d lost with Metal Overlord’s destruction all those years ago, but with so many of Sonic’s allies gathered together in one place, he was able to observe them all at once. The good doctor had apparently made this his goal as well, using his own means to collect the data, which Metal Sonic had been able to hack and take over, passing on fake data to his pathetic creator.

 

When at last the data had been fully collected, and the doctor defeated once again as expected, he’d revealed himself and challenged the fake once more, a guise to collect the last piece of data he needed from his foe. Despite Sonic’s clear attempts to sabotage him, leading to his current damages, he’d gotten what he needed and retreated. Free at last from the need to lay low, he had set his plans into motion.

 

As he stepped into the large room beyond the metal door, the lights stuttered on and he looked upon the fruits of his labour.

 

The collection before him had taken months to locate and collect. Most of them had been contained in ‘secure’ GUN facilities; others were sealed away in his creator’s various hidden lairs. To his left were the fragments of a thick ring with blue jewels, the pieces floating within the glass box they were placed in. To his right, a small file rested on a table, the acronym ‘C.E.C’ printed in bold letters on the front. Next to the table was a glass cylinder, similar to the one that held him as Robotnik tried to contain his sentience, within which floated the dead husk of a starfish-like entity, the single eye in the centre staring back at him. Many other artifacts surrounded him, all necessary to his plans and all somehow connected to the imposter.

 

Thoughts of the imposter led his thoughts to the convenient side-effect of his collecting. Few beyond his creator, Sonic and his allies knew of his existence, so when a blue being faster than anything that went up against him began attacking government facilities, the public knew only one person to accuse. According to the latest reports, Sonic the Hedgehog was perhaps the most wanted living person on the planet, the accusations having driven him into hiding, giving Metal Sonic the perfect chance to strike.

 

He glanced to his left. A tall mechanical pedestal stood before him, designed with the sole purpose of housing the object resting atop it in a glass box. Even contained as it was, Metal Sonic could feel the thrum of energy pouring out of the green Chaos Emerald. He’d never gotten his hands on one since his defeat above the Final Fortress. Robotnik had been too paranoid, afraid the immeasurable energies of Chaos would reactivate the intelligence he’d thought he’d deleted. What a fool he was, though his paranoia has delayed Metal’s plans for years. Now, at last, he’d found one, a chance encounter as he’d scouted out another GUN base.

 

He’d been careful not to leave a trail. The energies of the Emeralds were beyond comprehension, but that made them utterly unique and therefore easily detectable, making the use of Chaos Control too risky. Luckily, his VMOD was much more efficient than it had been two years ago and he had claimed his prize and gone before anyone knew any wiser.

 

He reached forward, sending a signal to the pedestal to open the containment module. The box hissed open and the thrum of energy grew even more palpable. As he had before at the crater, he brought his metal claw up and latched onto the artifact. He felt its power begin to flow through him. Though it could not repair the damage to his body, his limp disappeared as the energy filled in for damaged mechanisms.

 

Obtaining the Chaos Emerald has accelerated his plans immensely. All that was needed was one component, the last piece of the plan Metal Sonic had needed to collect.

 

He looked forward at the far side of the room, at the large familiar object that rested there, ten times his own size. He’d searched for it ever since the end of that battle in the skies years ago. By the times he’d been ‘reactivated’ by Robotnik, GUN had found it and relocated it to a hidden facility. Since then, they moved it from one place to the other, creating a trail Metal had followed to find it, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Now, at last, it was before him.

 

He looked up at the dark, dead eyes of Metal Overlord’s severed head and laid his hand upon it.

 

At once he felt another, familiar thrum of energy run through him, the leftover power of the Lost Labyrinth Artifact still contained within. It reached out to connect with his systems, as if recognising him, reinforcing the power of the Emerald that was already there. He felt the rush of power run through him. He reached up with his damaged arm and touched the head. The response was immediate. A patch of the metal turned silver and flowed out, covering his arm. As it receded, the scars of battle were gone completely.

 

Metal Sonic began to laugh, the horrifying screeching sound echoing around the room. At last, he would be able to reclaim the power he’d once held. At last, he could strike back at the world that had denied the truth that _he_ was the original Sonic. At last, he would be able to face his enemy, and foil his attempts at trickery and deception, proving once and for all he was a fake.

 

Then, and _only_ then, would he die. At long last, he would kill Sonic the Hedgehog.

 

Slowly, but surely, the giant head began to melt and flow into its owner.


End file.
